The Book Of Love
by TappinCastlefan
Summary: Books are not just paper and ink in a neat binding.  They hold much more than that.  And you never know when one will lead you to your perfect forever.
1. When You Read To Me

_**The book of love is long and boring**_

_**No one can lift the damn thing**_

_**It's full of charts and facts and figures **_

_**and instructions for dancing  
**_

The bar was dim in the early evening light. It wasn't quite dark outside, or inside, for that matter. There were dull green lamps hanging over the few pool tables, those of a complementary gold hue hanging over or behind tables and booths.

It was a fairly quiet establishment, compared to the usual cop bars that Detective Kevin Ryan usually visited.

Sure, he liked hanging out with other officers. It was cathartic. A group of them would hang at the bar, or throw darts - anything really – and just spin stories. They'd tell of their cases, of their suspects. On the average night, one could hear the most colorful of conversations.

But sometimes, he just liked to relax in solitude. Kevin wasn't sure his partner knew he came here. Usually he just told Javier that he was going to head home early, or go visit with his parents. And being a fellow homicide cop, Javi just responded with a nod and a comradely pat on the shoulder.

Tonight, he was parked at the edge of the bar, perfectly cornered against the wall. There was a cold beer in the tall glass to his right. He hadn't truly touched it yet. The moment he got himself seated he got lost in his reading.

Macbeth.

That was his guilty pleasure. Reading Shakespeare. If he thought back far enough, he could recall his first encounter with the works – in the seventh grade he was cast as titular Romeo, awkwardly sharing his first kiss with cheerleader Gwen Corcoran. It was terrible. A mash of nervous lips lost in shaky lines and bad costumes. Somehow, he ended up fascinated with the language of the writer, and spent countless hours through his school years in and out of libraries, completely absorbed in it.

Even today, in the midst of murders and criminals, hell, even back when he was in narcotics, he found some solace in re-reading pieces for the fifth or sixth time.

Tonight, after the murder of a teenager, he needed that escape.

So here he was.

People were here, it's not like the place was completely devoid of activity. A few regulars perched across from the bar tender, some small groups of men shooting pool.

And a very giggly group of women at a round booth near the door.

Upon reaching the end of Act I, Kevin set the book down. Just a short break to actually take a sip from the drink that had been sweating beside him for the past ten minutes. He was just opening up his book again, eyes lingering over the scene description for the second act, when a body brushed his side.

"Oh," she sighed, "I'm sorry." He looked over, finding a petite woman stumbling over her three inch heels. "I can never quite keep my balance in these damn things. Don't know why I let my sister talk me into buying them."

A breathy, flowing laugh escaped her lips as she spoke. Kevin couldn't help but smile and offer his hand to help her.

"Oh, and now I'm just rambling like an idiot. You probably think I'm such a ditz." Her voice split when she had caught the bartender's attention. "Another round for my table please?"

The aged man behind the bar nodded, proceeding to fill glasses.

"I don't think you're a ditz."

"What?" She nearly jumped at his response, turning to look at him.

"I said I-" Kevin was caught completely off guard. She had big, beautiful eyes that weren't quite green, but then, weren't quite blue either. There were tender, subtle dimples to her cheeks, and golden, sun-kissed waves framing her face. "I said…hi. I'm Kevin."

She blushed to a shade of pale red that he found absolutely adorable. "Hi," she extended her hand, "Jenny." Her smile, Kevin noticed, was a brilliant white, and contagious. He felt like he was sixteen again.

"What are, umm…what are you reading?" Jenny motioned to his book, and adjusted her position to lean against the bar.

"Oh," he looked startled, "Macbeth. I'm kind of a Shakespeare dork."

There was that giggle of hers again.

"Ah," he cried, and slapped his hand against his forehead, "that sounds, completely lame. I usually don't tell people that. Now that I'm thinking…I don't think…anyone, knows that."

She laughed again, rested her hand on his arm where it rested on the bar top. "I think it's sweet. And really kind of…inspired. I always had a hard time understanding Shakespeare in school."

Neither of them truly noticed that now she had propped herself up onto the stool next to his, or the group of girls she had been with, now descreetly watching them.

"See," he looked into her eyes, "the trick is reading it more than once. You have to read it slowly once, to grasp what's being said, then read it again to fit in the meaning and feel the emotion. It's pretty powerful stuff."

"Maybe I just haven't had the right teacher." Their shoulders were touching, ever so slightly.

"I-um," he stuttered, taken by her touch, "Macbeth is actually a tragedy. There are other works of Shakespeare that are more subtle, or not as, I guess you could say depressing?"

"And what would say…Romeo and Juliet be?"

Kevin's book was now long forgotten, along with his drink, and apparently, Jenny's party. "By definition, it's a tragedy, but, I feel like there should be an acception for uh…" he let a nervous cough into his fist, "romances."

There was silence as the two simply shared a look. He didn't believe it before, but now…now, Kevin was starting to believe in love at first sight. Who could ever know that so much could be said without words.

"Jen?" A strange voice interrupted their moment. They both spun around, looking at an equally short woman, only with hair of a dark brown, holding an extra purse and coat. "We're going to head back to Kim's place." This new woman paused to give Kevin the proverbial 'once-over'. "Are you coming, or should we just expect you later?"

The three other women waiting by the door looked to be whispering to each other, in between soft laughs and smiles.

With a sigh inside, Kevin gave her hand a tap. "Go on, get back to your friends." When he smiled at her, she smiled at him, and he felt his stomach pinch.

Jenny still looked at him when she spoke. "I'll meet you guys outside in a second." The woman only nodded, practically skipping out the door with the others like a group of six-year olds.

"Here." She grabbed his copy of _Macbeth_ from him, and using a stray pen sitting on the bar, scribbled something down on the inside cover.

Before he knew what was happening, Jenny was leaning over, brushing her lips with his cheek. And then…she was gone, and Kevin was left watching her leave the bar.

When he finally felt the oxygen return to his brain, he reached for his book. There was a flutter in his chest when he peeled back the front cover to read what she had written.

And there it was, in royal blue ink.

_I'm free this weekend. Give me a call. Please?_

_212. 418. 5555. _

_-Jenny_

There was a beautiful twist to the tail of her 'y', and a small heart in front of her name.

Carefully, so as not to smudge the still drying pigment, he ran his thumb over the letters.

He waited what he thought was a suitable amount of time for the ladies to be completely gone, before he exited as well.

Walking home that night, Kevin Ryan clutched his precious Shakespeare to his chest, and smiled.

_**But I, I love it when you read to me**_

_**And you, you can read me anything**_

_**

* * *

**So, this is based on a really beautiful song by the same title - "The Book Of Love". I really love the song, and I really had fun writing about these two. I hope you liked it as much as I loved writing it. There are going to be three chapters in total, so, please, please, please, stick with me. _

_Reviews = Love_

_Tappin_

_Also...technically...it's Monday! And we all know what that means! KNOCKDOWN! Enjoy everyone!_


	2. When You Sing To Me

_**The book of love has music in it**_

_**In fact that's where music comes from**_

_**Some of it is just transcendental**_

_**Some of it is just really dumb**_

By the time the two got back to his apartment, Kevin's stomach had actually stopped flipping. Now it was more of a slow turning feeling.

He hadn't intended on bringing Jenny to the precinct for a while. A _long_ while. And this wasn't because he didn't care about her enough, oh no. On the contrary, he cared about her far too much. Kevin knew, he just knew, that Esposito and Castle would act like idiots.

But after all the grief he took during this case, over a freakin' dominatrix, he thought it was time to prove his point to his partner (partners?) that he wasn't messing around with this girl.

They had talked about it before she actually came over to the precinct. Kevin, hands shaking with a cocktail of fear, nerves, and love, sat Jenny down, determined to make sure that she was comfortable with this.

"_Kevin, it's really no big deal."_

"_Are you absolutely sure?" He racked a hand through his hair, the other, holding on to hers for dear life. "Because I can't guarantee that they're going to act like adults."_

"_First of all, Kev, I deal with elementary school kids on a daily basis. If I can handle a kid tying his shoelaces together 'because it sounded fun', I can handle them."_

_She noticed that he still looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. _

"_And," this time she reached up to cup his cheek, "you've told me a lot of great things about them. It sounds to me like you guys are practically brothers. Do you really think they would take something important to you so lightly?"_

_With a huff he stood to pace in front of where she sat on the couch in his apartment. "But Jen-"_

_He nearly fell backwards when she stood in his path. "But Kevin," her hands were fumbling around for his, "the most important thing for you to know," Jenny shifted to wrap her arms around him, "is that I love you. And that's what matters. That I love __**you**__, regardless of the overgrown children that you work with." _

_In the blink of an eye his mouth was crashing to hers, and Kevin was thanking his lucky stars that he had hers. _

The next afternoon, Jenny met him at the Twelfth, as planned. He was almost afraid that she wouldn't show. The second he caught her pink coat lingering in the entrance to the bullpen he was running over, pulling her in.

With a stupid grin on his face, he introduced her to Beckett and the guys. Any doubt in his mind was instantly dashed away by how fast and how sweetly she addressed his friends. In fact, he was so stunned by how well she handled Esposito and Castle, that he was the one acting like an idiot.

There was still a spring in his step when they left to go to their movie, where they sat, wrapped in each other.

If anyone had asked Kevin what the movie was about, he probably couldn't tell them.

And now they were getting back to his place, with plans to make dinner and relax.

"I'm gonna go put my stuff down and change, I'm still in my work clothes." Through the fuzzy haze over his brain Kevin heard her.

"What?" He looked up from where he was locking away his gun and badge. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

She smiled at him, and stepped off, humming some nonsense tune. There wasn't a luckier man on the planet.

Soon enough, they were both wearing worn jeans and t-shirts (Jenny wearing one of Kevin's to be specific), padding around the kitchen mixing respective pots of marinated vegetables, sauce, and noodles.

Kevin turned from where he stood pouring their wine, watched her stirring the rich red tomato sauce.

Under her breath she was still humming, though now, the tune was more upbeat and happy, rather than slow and smooth.

He left the glasses behind him on the counter, and slowly came up behind her, running his hands slowly down her sides. He smiled when she leaned back into his chest, still singing softly.

"What're you singing there?" He peered over her shoulder to see the thick sauce steaming up. The scent wafted up into his nose, enough to make his stomach groan in hunger.

"Oh, nothing," she laughed, "it's just some ridiculous thing my mother used to play for me. It's kind of stupid." With a nervous giggle she set the wooden spoon down on the side of the counter. It would leave a red sauce ring, but they'd deal with the mess later.

Kevin had to shift when Jenny turned in his arms, backing him away from the stove. Her hands came up to his shoulders, her wide eyes searching his own ice blue pair.

"I don't think it's stupid." She rolled her eyes at him. Did all the women in his life have to have a killer eye roll like that? Teasingly he began to sway them back and forth to the beat she had been singing moment ago. "Come on, how's the rest of it go?"

"Kev, let's just get back to dinner." A little annoyed, she tried to pull from him, but he wouldn't let her go. Couldn't.

"No. No, Jen, you had me going there. I want to hear it. You sing so beautifully too."

"No," she scoffed, "I really don't."

"I think I'll be the judge of that."

Jenny looked up at him. One thing she hadn't told him yet was how much she loved his size. He was taller than her, granted he wasn't tall by average standards, but she fit in his side just so perfectly. He had a face that made her knees turn to mush. She didn't know that feeling was actually possible until she met Kevin in the bar that night. She always thought that it was all fairy tale bravado. But no, it was really possible.

He had the most adorable smile, and the most gorgeous eyes. And she could run her hands through his hair for hours. It should be a crime how much she loved him.

Kevin smiled when she gave in, and began to move them around the room as she sang. They laughed in between lines, somehow ending up with Jenny sitting atop the counter, Kevin standing between her legs.

A thoughtful moment passed in silence as his thumbs caressed her thighs, and her right hand toyed with the soft hairs just behind his ear.

"Can I ask you something?" He noticed that his voice came out a lot smaller than he was aiming for.

She nodded a yes with a smile, still enjoying his touch.

"Would you um…consider, possibly, I mean, only if you want to…"

"Kev, what is it?"

"Jenny would you consider moving in with me?"

"Really?" Neither had moved their hands, but they had stopped actively moving.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want to rush you or anything. I just, really care about you and I would love it for you to stay here with me. We could wait-"

He couldn't speak anymore because her hand was cupped over his mouth. He could smell the basil and garlic in the palm of her hand.

"I don't need to consider it." She paused when she saw his eyebrows raise, and a glint in his eye. Her hand slid over to his jaw, pulling him closer. And only when he was an inch away from her face did she continue.

"I would love to move in with you Kevin Ryan."

A grin stretched across his face as he leaned up to kiss her. Perfectly timed, just as they broke apart, the pot of sauce bubbled up and splattered on the stovetop.

They both jumped at the sound, and the sight of red drops freckled across the white plane.

"I think we should get back to cooking," she laughed. With a quick jump she hopped off the counter, using his shoulders to steady herself. She turned back into him, pecking his cheek, before stepping back over. "We don't want to ruin the first official meal in _our_ apartment."

_**But I, I love it when you sing to me**_

_**And you, you can sing me anything**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Yea, so this basically took on a life of its own, and I've enjoyed it. It's different than my usual stuff - I hope you like it. There's gonna be one more chapter, hopefully either Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks you all you wonderful readers!_

_Drop me a line!_

_Tappin_


	3. When You Give Me Things

_**The book of love is long and boring**_

_**And written very long ago**_

_**It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes**_

_**And things we're all too young to know**_

It had been an order. They all had to get checked out. That was apparently the rule after you'd been held captive, tied up, nearly drowned, inches from taking a bullet to the kneecap. And it wasn't just him. All four of them had been directed to the two waiting ambulances and told to let the paramedics do their job.

That was a hard pill to swallow. None of them could willingly say that they liked being poked and prodded.

But, knowing that it was for their own good, Castle and Becket, Ryan and Esposito, all went over and got cleaned up.

From where he sat on the hood of his car, Kevin Ryan could see what was going on. The Captain had called everyone's significant other – including Lanie – and waited, while giving reports, for everyone to be taken home.

He watched as Martha and Alexis came to pick up Castle, who then gave Beckett a ride home. He watched as Lanie, with a nervous look on her face, came for Esposito. As the two walked off, hand in hand, he wondered whether he'd get the official word from his partner anytime soon.

Bundled up in a blanket, he waited for his own family. His fiancé. His Jenny. And soon enough, he heard the distinctive, fast paced shuffle of her feet against the pavement. He winced at the sound, knowing that she moved at double-time when she was scared or nervous.

"Oh god, Kevin!" Before he knew what hit him she was wrapping her arms around him, kissing every inch of his still cold and moist face. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"I'm okay Jen," he whispered, "I'm gonna be okay."

He could feel his own eyes sting as she sniffed back tears. "Don't you ever scare me like that again Kevin Ryan."

Kevin brought up his hands to take hers, not missing the fact that they were just as cold as his. He looked deep into her eyes; saw all the fear, all the love. Carefully, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'll try my best."

"You better," she faked a smile, "because if you get yourself killed I'm going to have to bring you back to life so I can kill you myself."

She dove for him then. Meeting him in the middle for a blood-boiling kiss. In those moments, all the fear drained out, leaving only the raw heart between the two.

"Come on," he hopped off the car, feeling the ache already in his knees and shoulders, "as hot as that was just now, I'm still soaking wet."

Jenny couldn't help it. A few tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her cheeks when she wrapped her arm around his soggy middle. Wordlessly, Kevin brushed them away with his thumbs.

The second they got in the door Jenny backed Kevin against the wall, claiming him for her own, and they shared the comfort of the steaming hot shower. They held each other in a tender embrace under the spray, not sure of who needed the contact more.

It wasn't until the wee hours of the morning that the two were finally settled in bed. The television was playing something stupid in the background. All that could really be heard was the faint laughter of the studio audience from some sitcom.

Jenny was breathing slowly, resting her head against Kevin's chest, just listening to his heart beat. She didn't think she had ever heard such a beautiful sound. Her arm was draped over him, while he traced gentle patterns on her back.

"The second I heard the Captain's voice I knew something was wrong."

He sucked in a breath beneath her, the air still only poking at his lungs.

"It was in his tone. I really…" she paused, "really thought he was going to tell me you weren't coming home tonight. I've never been more terrified in my entire life. Not even when I was seven and I saw my little sister fall out of the old maple tree in our backyard." She shifted, tightened her grip on his chest.

"Then he told me where you were, and what happened, and I felt relieved. Until _that_ hit me. That you were a hostage. That some bastard almost drowned you right in front of Javier."

"Jenny. Listen to me. I'm alright now. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Kevin just, just let me finish. This is something I need to say."

A ball of ice formed in Kevin's gut. He was completely terrified of what she was going to say. Was she going to leave him? He had heard of it happening before. Situations where cops' spouses get spooked and run.

Again Jenny moved, this time so that she was on top of him, one hand on either side of his face. Desperately Kevin searched her gaze for a tell, petrified again, when he couldn't find one.

"Kevin Ryan, you are the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. And tonight made me realize how much that scares me." One of his hands took a grip on her wrist. "I don't know what I would have done if something more had happened to you."

"You would've been okay." He pressed a soft kiss to her palm. "It would hurt for a while, but you'd be okay. There are people here for you no matter what." He struggled to continue when tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

"But listen to me, Jenny," now he was the one to move, bringing them so that she was essentially sitting in his lap, "really listen to me. As long as I possibly can, I'm going to fight. So that every night, I can come home to you." There was more force to his tone, and a determination behind his words. His right hand took her left, gently separating her fingers, singling out the one that held the ring he had given her only weeks before. "You're my other half," he cupped her cheek with his free hand, "And you and me? We're perfect together. I am going to do everything in my power to keep things just as perfect for the rest of our lives. And whether we have five years, or fifty years, I promise you, with everything that I have, that I'm going to give you everything."

Both of their faces were streaked with salty tears when he pulled her in. Tentatively, he feathered her brow, her cheeks, her eyes, with kisses. When their lips met, it was slow and burning. A rolling fire that enveloped them both and made them forget their tears.

_**But I, I love it when you give me things**_

_**And you, you ought to give me wedding rings**_

Soon enough, they had calmed, and lay entwined together. Kevin, still awake, could feel Jenny's even breaths, silently cursing himself for the couple times he felt her cringe against his side.

He craned his neck to look at the clock. The neon green stood out against the blackness of the room.

3:26

His mind was still racing. He needed to find a way to relax. Something, anything, to get his mind off of what they had all been put through.

As carefully and quietly as he could he extracted himself from Jenny's arms. Again, he kicked himself, guilty when she softly called for him.

"Hey," he lovingly stroked her gold waves, "I'm right here. I'll be right back." For a second he let himself bury his face in her hair, loving the warm smell of her vanilla shampoo.

The wood floors felt cold beneath his socked feet as he walked over to the bookcase in their living room. They had left a lamp on, so the light was dim, yet bright enough for him to read the titles in the dark.

He squinted, letting his eyes adjust as he scanned the shelf. There were the classics he, and Jenny, had picked up. Her romance stories, and novels of the more geeky variety, which he just couldn't bare to part with, even at his age. His finger skimmed past some of Castle's books – _Heat Wave _and _Naked Heat_, of course, and some that he had bought on his own, some, copies that Beckett had had doubles of. Though, no one was supposed to know that either of them owned so many.

But that wasn't what he was looking for. What he wanted, he could probably find if he were blindfolded. With a quiet moan, he squatted down to the bottom shelf, feeling the growing pain in his legs. He knew he'd be sore when he eventually woke up.

And there it was, in it's rightful place, farthest to the right, closest to the wall. It was almost invisible if you didn't know what you were looking for. The blue-grey spine was worn from so many readings, the pages flipped up at the edges. A sign of love in Kevin's eyes.

He fingered the book out from its slot, and ran a thumb over the pages, making that buzz that he loved to hear. He knew he'd feel it when he tried to go back to bed, but he decided to sit on the couch, in the faint glow of the lamp, to read for a while.

Just to lose himself again, in a world he'd always loved.

Propped up in the corner of the plush cushions, he ran his hand over the silver embossed lettering on the cover and carefully opened it.

Kevin's eyes fell upon the note inside.

_I'm free this weekend. Give me a call. Please?_

_212. 418. 5555. _

_-Jenny_

And with a smile and a sigh, he began reading from the book that had changed his life.

_**You ought to give me wedding rings**_

_**

* * *

**And...this is it for this for this fic! Ta da! It's magic, I know! This is like, the fastest I've ever finished something! But this seriously just kept going on, and my fingingeres kind of just kept typing and typing. I really didn't intend for this last chapter to completely follow 'Knockdown', but, again, it just sort of happened. So, I hope you don't hate it. _

_Hopefully, if you've been following my story 'Rush To Judge', I'll be able to finish it in the next week (possibly ten days). School work has just totally overrun my life, preventing me from giving that story the focus and attention it demands. Thank you for sticking with my if I've kept you waiting. You guys are awesome!_

_Again, thank you, my wonderful readers for being so nice about this little story. If you can, look up the song, because it really is beautlful. I love the Kevin/Jenny dynamic, and if I got a decent idea (if anyone has any pitches?) I'd love to give them more stories. Leave me a little something, let me know what you think!_

_Love you guys!_

_Tappin_


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